Jewel of the Mind
by Kegan Brenna Karlin
Summary: Set sometime during season 7 after Sam begins her relationship with Pete, the team visits a planet colonized by Nirrti with a chieftain/priest who possesses mind reading abilities. Realizations follow for Sam and Jack. Lots of S/J, very little Sam/Pete.
1. A Strange, Little Man Named Monish

**Jewel of the Mind**

**By Kegan Brenna Karlin**

**Note: For those of you who read this first chapter before 8:45 pm EST on March 2, 2008...I added something to the plot at the very end to explain how the whole mind reading thing wouldn't be a security risk…so scroll down and catch that before you read on.**

**Chapter One: A Strange Little Man Named Monish**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Stargate. I just like to watch the episodes.

Rating: T just to be safe

Characters: Sam/Jack, very little (as in almost no) Sam/Pete

Genre: Romance, Humor, General

Summary: Set sometime during season 7 after Sam begins her relationship with Pete, the team visits a planet colonized by Nirrti with a chieftain/priest who possesses mind reading abilities. Realizations follow for Sam and Jack. Lots of S/J, very little (again almost zero) Sam/Pete.

"Sir, we have MALP telemetry" Walter stated after the wormhole engaged.

"Well that looks pretty…cozy." O'Neill observed.

The MALP was projecting the image of a room with warm colored walls and a fire burning in the middle. There were heaps of blankets and cushions piled around the perimeter and the ceiling was decorated with paintings that looked similar to Hindu art. As the MALP panned left it suddenly showed the image of a rather confused and startled looking old man wearing loose fitting beige pants and a matching vest worn open over his bare chest. His beard was long and slightly scraggly with tangling hues of gray and white, and on his head he wore a single ponytail of matching shade that cascaded like a waterfall in tight whitish waves. A single diamond shaped, ruby-toned jewel was placed in the center of his forehead with strings of colorful gems worn around his neck and wrists. The man leapt from his cushion and hesitantly approached the MALP taking one step forward and two steps back as he slowly crossed the room.

General Hammond nodded toward Daniel, who's eyes had been curiously glued to the peculiar man on the video feed, a strange expression on his face.

"Dr Jackson…" Hammond prodded.

"Huh?…oh…right…sorry." The archaeologist apologized. "Uh, hello. This is Dr. Daniel Jackson, we are peaceful explorers from the planet Ear.." but at the sudden sound of the human voice feeding through the machine the man jumped up into the air letting out a high pitched, blood curdling yelp and ran out of the room.

"Kind of like when T sees a mouse…" O'Neill attempted at humor, but Teal'c only curiously raised an eyebrow, and still standing stoically began to say

"Was it not you, O'Neill who…"

"Careful! Careful…" O'Neill cut him off. Sam looked down, suppressing a laugh with a full grin spread across her face.

"You too, major." O'Neill added in a playfully vengeful voice. Man did he love to see that smile, so much in fact that he mused that perhaps his work was done for the day.

"Well General what do you say?" O'Neill asked seeming rather antsy. The team had returned from a short leave a week ago and had yet to go on an off-world mission. O'Neill shifted his weight like a bored child missing the action.

"He does seem rather harmless, General" Sam assessed.

"I agree, major, its worth a look. However, proceed with caution. If it does turn out that we wish to arrange tdiplomatic relations with these people we don't want their first impression to be of us scaring them to death." Hammond answered.

"Yes Sir." Sam added.

As the wormhole closed they were now standing alone in the "cozy" room.

"Looks like nobody's home" O'Neill piped up.

"It would appear that this door is the only way out of this room." Teal'c added.

O'Neill nodded. "Carter..." he said gesturing toward the door's control panel.

"I'm on it." Sam answered.

Shortly after she had begun removing the crystals from the panel, she was met with a whooshing sound as the exit suddenly slid open.

O'Neill walked over to investigate. "That was fast…"

"Did I do tha…" Sam began, but before she could finish the small, frightened man entered the room. Taking one look at his visitors, he jumped up into the air once more, letting out the high-pitched scream, but before he could run away again Daniel approached him.

"My name is Daniel Jackson." The man still looked terrified, so Daniel slowly raised his hand and gestured toward himself. "Daniel." he said softly.

The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He gestured to himself in the same manner as Daniel. "Monish".

The man took another calming breath and spoke again, very slowly. "You…are not…Goa'uld?"

Daniel smiled, a relieved look crossing his face as well.

"No, we're not." He assured the man.

"In fact we came to meet your people in hopes that you might help us fight the Goa'uld" Sam added encouragingly.

Teal'c observed the man as he walked to a table near the fire in the center of the room. There he reattached the ruby like jewel to the center of his head. He must have removed it in his panic as he ran from the room. But why? Teal'c wondered.

"I see now that you are telling the truth." He said confidently. "Come with me."

"Well…wait a second, we are telling you the truth but how can you possibly be sure of that?" Daniel interrupted.

"I can see your thoughts and feel your intentions." The man added cheerily.

"Oh here we go…"O'Neill started.

"This one believes that I am insane." The man started.

They all turned to look at Jack, an annoyed look creeping over Daniel's features.

"Yes, well…" O'Neill began sarcastically.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, you are the leader of these people, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c former Jaffa in service to Apophis. I am Monish, leader of my people."

"I don't remember telling your our names." O'Neill piped up, surprised.

"That's cause we didn't, Sir." Sam added with a shrug.

He paused for a moment. "Carter, could I have a word"?

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, despite what you are thinking, I am not a security risk. I can only hear those thoughts which you bring to the surface of your mind. Those thoughts which you wish to stay hidden may stay hidden as long as you do not…what was the word you were thinking…oh yes, 'broadcast' them. Furthermore, you and your people are a far greater risk to me and my world than we are to you."

"Well there's that." O'Neill mumbled sounding slightly embarrassed. "Okay then, let's go." he shrugged. "And remember kids, nobody… broadcast… anything."

"Forgive my reaction to you. My people have been tormented for many years by the Goa'uld, Nirrti who claims to a Goddess, but my people have learned. We know better now. We believe that she is the one who brought us to this place thousands of years ago. She returns in the night every few years and takes some of our people. We never see them again." Monish said sadly.

The group followed him in silence until O'Neill added "Did he just say we might be dealing with 'Nerdy' again?"

I got the idea for the name Monish from when searching under Male names. It means "lord of the mind" according to this site and seemed appropriate given the influence of Nirrti and the rest of the story which will unfold….J


	2. Mind Reading and Musing

-1

**Chapter Two: Mind Reading and Musing**

Monish lead the team to up a long, damp curving stone staircase to the surface.

"We were in a cavern?" Daniel mused.

"Yes Daniel. Many generations ago it was Nirrti's secret room where she did horrible things to our people. She had the Chapa'ai placed within her chamber."

"Makes sense, at least in a sick, sadistic kind of way." Daniel started. Jack gave him a sideways glance.

"It does?"

"Well think about it…if you abduct people from other planets to be your guinea pigs, you don't have to march them through town into your lab…" Daniel started.

"ah. Gotcha." Jack stopped him.

"mmm…yeah." Daniel said dryly. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"So what is the chamber used for now, Monish?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"Now it is the chamber of spiritual contemplation and political leadership, Though for my people they are one in the same."

"No separation of Church and State, eh?" Jack asked.

This time it was Daniel who gave him a sideways glance.

"We believe that all of our people can become spiritually one with all energy, moving on to an existence that is higher than this one. We have believed this now for many generations since we rejected Nirrti and the other Goa'uld as gods."

"Ascension…" Daniel mused again.

"Yes, Daniel I see in your mind it is what you call ascension."

"Monish, could you not read our minds while we are…well…here?" O'Neill asked. "It just makes me…uncomfortable."

"I see that in your mind, colonel." Monish responded.

"Yeah, thanks." Jack answered dryly.

"So Monish, where do your politics fit into to your People's spiritual beliefs?" Daniel asked, his academic mind eager for an answer.

"The most spiritually advanced, that is, the one that is closest to attaining ascension, is deemed the leader of our people. The leader is then given the Jewel of the Mind, as I wear now.

"It is what allows you to read our thoughts." Teal'c stated.

"Yes, Teal'c. Very observant, as always." Monish responded. Teal'c nodded in response.

"How did you?" A confused O'Neill began to ask.

Teal'c hurriedly replied, "When were in Nirrti's chamber Monish took this stone from the table in the center after DanielJackson asserted that we were not Goa'uld. It was only after this that he was able to read our thoughts."

"Good." Jack answered surprised.

"The Chieftain of our people is also the high priest, in charge of making all political decisions and in helping the people find their spiritual paths. I am also responsible for helping individuals reconcile the difficulties that present themselves in life." Monish continued.

"Fascinating." Daniel remarked. "Monish, we believe that it is our world from which the Goa'uld brought humans to inhabit other planets in the galaxy." He started.

"I have been reading this in your mind since the very beginning of our meeting, Daniel." Monish replied. "And from what I see in your thoughts and in your spirit, I believe you are correct. What welcome guests you all will be. We have been searching for the home of our ancestor's for many generations." Monish smiled, a curious look on his face. "If it is true that our people originated on your world, then you are more than welcome guests, we are brothers!" He exclaimed.

O'Neill looked slightly uneasy.

"It is also fascinating that…well, we believe that your people were taken from a land we call "India" thousands of years ago, a people who followed the ancient Brahmin religion, what has in modern times grown into a faith called Hinduism. Your culture and the art in the chamber seem very similar to this ancient culture. Later in the same land, Buddhism, a faith that began from the ancients' teachings on Ascension came forth, which also seems to be what happened here, except both faiths remain in India today, the majority of the people following the Hindu tradition."

"Yes Daniel, I see all this in your thoughts." Monish smiled.

"Right, I don't have to tell you any of this do I?" Daniel smiled back.

Jack brought his hand to his forehead. "Oy!" He muttered.

Sam looked down and smiled once more while Teal'c turned to look at O'Neill, curiously raising his eyebrow.

Once they arrived in the village, Monish summoned his people around him.

"These people bring us the answer of the home of our ancestors!" He exclaimed. The crowd suddenly grew quiet.

Monish continued, "I know this to be true because I see into their minds! I know what they know! They have defeated many Goa'uld! We are safe from Nirrti with these as our guests! Let us have a feast in my home tonight!" and with that the crowd cheered.

"Come, we will show you your sleeping rooms and supply you with clean clothing to wear to the feast." Monish gestured for them to follow him once more.

With that Carter's head popped up, a frown spreading over her features. She had already experienced what it was like to be "properly attired" by a foreign culture, and she had to wonder why whenever the natives insisted on dressing them up, she always seemed to get the short end of the stick. Then she wondered if Monish had caught on to her silent musings.

Jack saw Carter's grimace and smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see Carter all dressed up in some pretty, alien dress again. After all, a dressed up Carter was a rare sight and one that was well worth savoring. Then Jack wondered if Monish had caught on to his few moments of day dreaming.

Monish said nothing to either of them, and then they realized that he was no longer wearing the stone, but rather holding it in his hand. Daniel noticed that he had removed it when he stopped to address his people. They both breathed a sigh of relief and then gave one another a startled, sideways glance.

Monish simply grinned at the sound of their exhale. He did not have to be wearing the stone to guess the source of their discomfort, after all he had counseled others for many years and had been aware of the thoughts for the better part of the afternoon.

Jack took advantage of the few moments he had to talk strategy. "Hey T -" he started. "So do you think that mind-reading-psychic-thingy is a piece of Nirrti's technology?"

"Indeed." Teal'c responded confidently.

"It's something we should consider trading for." Sam whispered, anxious for the opportunity to finally study Goa'uld mind reading technology up close. Maybe if she figured out how it worked they could devise a way to defend against it rather than constantly having their heads messed with at the mercy of some over dressed super villain.

Daniel simply nodded in agreement.


	3. Monish's House

-1

**Chapter Three: Monish's House**

The party now stood in Monish's home, which was quite large in relation to the one room huts of the small village. The home had a large dining and sitting area with three sleeping rooms, which were usually adequate for entertaining guests since most of the villagers were used to having only one. Monish placed the stone back upon his forehead and looked as though he was in quite a hurry to leave.

" I have some work to do in preparing the feast, but you may rest and clean up here. You will need to share sleeping quarters as I only have two extra rooms." Monish was actually quite startled as he suddenly heard Jack's thoughts "broadcasting" quite loudly, practically screaming, as he searched for an excuse to share a room with Carter.

Monish grinned slightly. The team then noticed a woman from the village holding fresh garments in her arms, presumably for them. What was odd was that this woman seemed to have a similar device attached to her forehead, however it was blue. In fact, all of the villagers now helping to prepare the feast were wearing them. The team seemed uneasy as they began to notice this.

"The blue stones cannot read your thoughts, Major Carter." Monish answered Sam's silent inquiry.

"The blue stones are linked to mine and to each other so that we may coordinate the preparations quickly and efficiently."

"Oh." Said Sam, slightly embarrassed and slightly relieved as her scientific mind began to draw up theoretical schematics for how this might work.

With that Monish disappeared into the crowd while the team headed down the hall toward the sleeping quarters. The uncomfortable moment came when deciding who was going to share with whom. Sam held Jack's gaze for a moment both of them thinking of how nice it would be to be "forced" to sleep close to one another as they did in Antarctica- and then both were glad that Monish and his mind reading stone were nowhere to be found. What they didn't know was that Monish, hearing Jack's loud and Sam's more cautious "broadcasting" earlier had already decided the solution to this problem. It was, after all, his spiritual duty to help other's with life's struggles, and Monish sensed that if these two people seemed to struggle so much in one afternoon that the rest of their lives must be unbearable. With this in mind Monish sent the woman with the garments to escort the guests to their appropriate rooms.

The woman appeared from around the corner of the hall.

"Excuse me, I am called Chinmayi . Monish asked me to show you to your rooms. You will find your Garments resting on your beds. Samantha, Colonel O'Neill, please come this way. Daniel, Teal'c, your accommodations are across the hall." The woman said in a soft, calm voice.

Teal'c nodded respectfully in appreciation and Daniel thanked her as they entered their room.

"Excuse me, Samantha, you will please come with me. Women's garments are a bit more complicated and we will most likely need to tailor them to fit." she continued.

Oh great…Sam thought. Jack didn't need Monish's stone to read what was clearly written across her face. Sam's slight smile had just turned to a grimace. He, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

As Sam followed Chinmayi down the hall she began to think that it was rather convenient that in the moment that she was thinking of being stranded with Jack in Antarctica and sleeping warmly in his arms, a woman shows up granting her just that. She wondered if she had been broadcasting much more than she intended to this afternoon, and if not her, then could it have possibly been Jack?

Two hours later the men sat in the dining room wearing loose fitting, bronze pants and matching vests both woven with Golden thread and embroidery. The Fabric was iridescent and stood out against their bare chests. Teal'c, however, did not look amused. He really wasn't the embroidery type, and did not appreciate being dressed up by foreign cultures anymore than Sam.

"Oh come on, T, you guys back on Chulak wear those metal skirts, this can't be _that _bad." He teased.

"I believe that I may physically harm you, O'Neill." Teal'c stated stoically.

"Geez, tough crowd." O'Neill mused.

Just then, Sam entered the dining room wearing copper tinted iridescent pants that fit loosely on her legs, forming a V shape below her belly button and exposing her bare midriff. Her top matched in color, stopping several inches above her waist in the middle of her rib cage. It studded along the perimeter with different colored jewels. Her head was adorned with a sheer, transparent veil that trailed down her back and over the bottom of her face. Her hair had been brushed to perfection, softly falling over her forehead.

Once again the scene felt eerily familiar to Sam as she entered the room fining all of "her boys" staring at her, mouths agape. Daniel could have sworn that he heard Jack gasp.

"Hey guys! So what's for dinner?" Sam did her best to sound cheerful when in fact she wanted to throw her veil into the fireplace.

"huh….what?" Jack stuttered.

Sam looked down to hide her delight in stumping him. She resolved that anything that could cause her to have that effect on Jack O'Neill was worth a little discomfort.

Just then, Monish stood up in the front of room to give a toast. "Let us welcome our friends of Earth, home of our ancestors, our brothers…and sister (he added looking at Sam with a smile) and soon to be allies in destroying the Goa'uld!" He shouted warmly

The room raised their glasses and cheered once more.

After the feast the four tired travelers headed to their sleeping quarters.

"I'll make sure to check in with Hammond before we're overdue in the morning." Jack noted.

"Alright, well goodnight Sam, night Jack." Daniel yawned sleepily.

"Goodnight major Carter. I do not really wish to inflict physical harm upon you O'Neill."

Sam's face twisted in a combination of confusion and "broadcasting" to the boys that she really didn't want to inquire about that one.

"Sweet dreams to you, too, T." Jack grinned.


	4. 0200 Hours

-1 A/N sorry for the hold up guys! I had a lot of work to do in the last couple of days so I was slow in posting the next chapter. Anyways, hope you like…

and JesusFreak1334, here is your angst : - ), I aim to please lol. And don't worry, Monish will be right back in the next chapter, I guess he is sleeping during this one lol.

Thanks for the Reviews everybody!

KBK

**Chapter four: 0200 hours**

Jack and Sam stared at the rectangular cushion that was to be their bed, both silently contemplating the question of logistics. It was raised slightly higher off the ground than the regular seating cushions, and it seemed as though there would be barely enough room for two adults. However, neither of them expressed complaints, and went about getting ready for bed. Throughout their years of military service they had slept in far more uncomfortable bedding, and besides, Jack thought, at least this way I won't have a choice but to hold her. Yes, it seemed the tight, uncomfortable cushion would actually make for a pleasant sleeping experience. Daniel and Teal'c ,on the other hand, were not having so easy an experience and were facing a great deal of discomfort across the hall.

"Do see our BDUs anywhere?" Sam asked Jack, eager to change out of the shimmering costume.

Just then they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." Sam answered.

It was Chinmayi.

"Hello Samantha, Colonel O'Neill. I came to inform you that your garments have been taken to be laundered and will be returned to you in the morning."

"That's very kind of you" Sam began, "but is it possible we could have our clothing back? We can take it to be…uh, laundered, when we arrive home." She pleaded.

"That would not be possible, I'm afraid your clothing is already in the water." Chinmayi said nervously, afraid she had offended her guests.

Sam sensed her uneasiness and acquiesced. "Oh It's alright. Thank you very much for your kindness, these will do just fine." She said warmly with a smile, though she internally doubted that last remark.

Chinmayi nodded and exited the room.

Before the door closed behind her Sam and Jack were able to hear Teal'c and Daniel across the hall.

"Teal'c, come on, there is not enough room on this…this….cushion for you, me, and your staff weapon!"

" I am very uncomfortable laying in such close quarters with you DanielJackson, could you please reposition your hand to another location?"

"If you would let go of your staff weapon we'd have more room!" Daniel exclaimed in exasperation.

"We can not yet be sure of the intentions of the people of this world." Teal'c insisted.

The door shut as they continued to argue, the last remark that Sam and Jack managed to catch having something to do with Teal'c's regret of ever taking the drug Tretonin and requiring sleep.

Sam was definitely giggling now and O'Neill joined her before plopping down onto the cushion saying "Remember, Major, no giggling!" with a grin, reminding them both of Antarctica.

After they both became lost in a moment of comfortable silence, drifting away in the memory, he continued,

"Sounds like Teal'c and Danny are happy campers, huh?"

Sam just laughed as she plopped down beside him.

They soon realized that in order to prevent one or the other from falling off of the edge, that Sam would have to lie with her back against Jack's chest, his arms softly around her waist. They moved into this position nonchalantly, the logistics discussed in a very matter-of-fact military fashion of finding the best solution to the problem, however both were incredibly overjoyed that none of the other solutions had managed to work out. This was by far the "best" solution, indeed.

"This is…nice." Jack said warmly, barely above a whisper.

"Mmhm…" Sam purred in response.

Jacks fingers rested softly against Sam's bare belly and midriff, his nose in her hair. She tried to control the hitch in her breath as every nerve in her body began to tremble, but it was too late. Jack had definitely noticed, and she knew it. She only took comfort in the fact that Jack had done the same as his breathing became much heavier. As he adjusted the position of his head to lie in the crook of her neck, his lips falling naturally in the crook of her neck and shoulder, Jack felt her tremble again, and Sam could have sworn she heard an ever so quiet groan from him. Sam was lost in a dream world for a few fleeting moments, until her conscience brought her back to Earth, or wherever she was. _I'm seeing someone now, I'm in a relationship! I can't be doing this, this is so…WRONG!…Even if I know I loved him first, still love him, would leave Pete in an instant if I could have him…_her thoughts slowed as their impact set in _Am only dating Pete because I CAN'T have him…_

With that carter freed herself from O'Neill's arms, making some excuse about needing to find the bathroom. O'Neill sensed something was wrong.

"Carter…you ok?" He prodded as she pulled on her boots.

She didn't answer, but only held his gaze, a distressed look on her face as she gestured toward the door with her hands, looked into his eyes once again and turned to leave.

"Carter…Sam." He called after her, but she had already started down the hall.

O'Neill sighed and began pulling on his own boots. He wandered outside of the house in search of her and realized that it was now 0200 hours, time to check in with General Hammond. He walked around the opposite side of the house to find a somber Sam sitting on the steps.

"Hey." he spoke softly.

"Hey." she returned in the same tone,

Jack was at a loss for what to say. He was unsure of what had just happened, though he could take a good guess that it had something to do with the closeness of their sleeping arrangements, frat regs, Pete, those feelings of theirs that they supposedly didn't have and that had supposedly been locked up in that room 3 years ago, or all of the above. _Man, do we have issues!_ He thought.

All he could say was "Um, its time to check in with Hammond. Why don't we take a walk? I'll probably need your help with the door thingy anyway…"

"Right." she said gently, looking up at her CO with a slight, distant smile and rising from the steps. Together they began the short walk back toward the complex that held the Stargate, Sam accompanying him as Major Carter, coming along to do her job and no longer laying with his arms around her waist as Samantha. She breathed a sigh of relief.


	5. Called Out

-1A/N : Hey everyone, sorry it took me a day or two again! Grrr life. LoL. Anyways we're getting close to the end, promise! I'm going to try and wrap it up in the sixth of seventh chapter…and the saga continues…

**Chapter Five: Called Out **

Sam trotted alongside Jack in silence for the remainder of the twenty minute walk. After making their way down the long, damp stone staircase of the cave, they finally arrived at Nirrti's door.

_Sure glad she hasn't shown up._ Thought Jack as Sam made a remark about the Goa'uld's security technology surrounding her labs.

Sam entered the combination on the control pad and the door slid open. However, instead of merely finding an empty, dark room, a DHD, a MALP, and a Stargate, the pair found Monish sitting in front of three lit candles while the aroma of burning incense filled the room. The small man was chanting and appeared to be lost in a state of meditation.

Sam and Jack looked at each other uneasily, and finally Jack approached the chanting man.

"Uh…Monish…" He began.

The man did not move or stop chanting.

Jack came closer to his ear. "MONISH!" He said loudly.

The man, looking slightly perturbed, came out of his trance.

"Uh…Sorry about that." Jack said awkwardly.

"Monish we need to send a message home to let our people know that we are safe." Sam explained.

Monish agreed to halt his meditation long enough to let them use the Stargate.

"SG-1, this is Hammond, come in."

"Hello Sir! Greetings from P3X505!"

"I take it that means everything is all right on your end, Colonel?"

The incident between Sam and himself rushed through his mind and he flinched as he answered, "Yes Sir." This time with no humor, wit, or enthusiasm. This did not escape Sam's notice.

" You don't sound so sure about that Colonel." Hammond replied.

Jack picked up the pep in his voice, however the look he shot Sam let her know that he did not believe what he was saying. Monish, wearing the red stone, was, of course, privy to all of this.

"Everything is just peachy, General!" Jack assured him.

"And what about trade relations?" Hammond asked.

"We haven't had the chance to discuss trade yet, Sir." Sam answered.

"Understood, check back in in 24 hours. Hammond out."

Monish gave them both a very peculiar look.

"Let us discuss trade now." He said to them.

Sam and Jack looked at one another with uncertainty.

"No offense, Monish, but it is the middle of the night, maybe we should do this after we have had some rest." Sam suggested.

"I believe discussing trade now will allow you to rest much easier, Samantha, as opposed to waiting for morning."

Sam gave a curious look, but agreed.

"You wish to study the Jewel of the Mind, as well as the blue stones." Monish stated matter-of-factly. "You believe it will allow you to better defend against the Goa'uld." He continued.

"Yes, we do." Sam answered.

"As much as I would like to assist you in this, I do not believe that your people are ready for such a piece of technology." Monish stated bluntly, his soft demeanor turning serious.

Jack just looked at him confused. "But you….huh, what?" He asked.

"Colonel O'Neill I have heard your people hide thoughts, feelings, and intentions because they believed it would be dangerous if others discovered their existence. I noticed this especially with Samantha and yourself." Monish knew what he was doing. It was his job to help people sort out their struggles, and if they would not, or even could not, for fear of repercussion, deal with their feelings, he would have to trick them into facing the cold, hard truth using trade as a negotiator.

Sam looked down at the ground.

"Well that's…different." Jack said, his voice sounding exhausted.

"Your people find their greatest accomplishment in successfully hiding their emotions and intentions, Colonel. I do not believe your people would be able to handle it if a technology were introduced that would take this privacy away. I have been reading this all day from Samantha and yourself, the two leaders of your group of travelers!" Monish insisted. "Furthermore, I have seen in your mind that some of your leaders are very corrupt and could find grave misuse for such technology." He continued.

"But you said we could still keep our thoughts to ourselves, as long as we didn't broadcast anything!" Jack added impatiently.

"That is a skill to be learned, Colonel." Monish began in a wise tone of voice. "For example" He continued, "I have heard your thoughts screaming in your mind all day, and they are very contrary to the feelings and thoughts you expressed openly."

"We are in general a very honest and well intentioned planet, Monish. We just believe that some things are, well, personal. There are, of course, a few among us who operate out of self-interest and greed, but for the most part, we are the good guys, we're fighting for what's right."

"Yet you are dishonest with yourself, Samantha, and the two of you are dishonest with each other, even though you have such a close relationship." He looked Jack in the eyes as he continued, " Jack you love her but years go by and you say nothing to her. In fact you act as though you feel nothing at all!"

O'Neill looked at Sam, staring into her eyes unable to look away.

Monish looked at Sam and continued, "Samantha, you love this man, you dream of this man, yet you say you love another, commit yourself to another that you only pretend to love, lying to him and lying to yourself!" A tear streamed down Sam's distressed face as she held Jack's intense, fiery gaze.

"Before I will arrange this trade with your people, I need to see that such issues and deceptions can be resolved." With that, he walked over to the table and picked up two of the blue stones and removed his own. He placed them under a beam of light for several seconds and returned. "These jewels have been linked together. I have removed my own stone so as not to be included in the link and to afford you this privacy that you require."

Jack looked confused. "What?"

"You're going to link our minds together?" Sam asked softly, feeling rather depleted.

"Yes, Samantha." Monish answered, the warmth returning to his voice.

"What?" Jack said again in a frustrated tone.

Sam just looked down. She was in no mood to explain this to him right now. She was far too exhausted.

"Colonel O'Neill, your mind will be linked with Samantha's, you will hear each others thoughts, you will exist inside each others minds where you can communicate freely. After all, your Air Force cannot punish you for what is said in your minds, for in the world outside of your link it will have never been spoken at all." Monish explained.


	6. Linking Minds

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**Chapter Six: Linking Minds**

Suddenly they looked around feeling disoriented and confused. Sam was wearing a long, classy, pink satin nightgown and Jack was wearing loose fitting wrangler jeans with a tight white t-shirt. Sam gasped at the sight and Jack just stood there with his mouth agape. They were standing in a dark room, with moonlight pouring through an open window, pale blue tinted curtains flapping in the wind. Purple flowers stood in a vase beside a bed with light fluffy white sheets and blankets, and a door leading to a balcony stood open, the night sky dotted with stars.

"Sir, where are we?" Sam asked slightly embarrassed as she looked down over satin-clad frame. They both walked out toward the balcony.

"I dunno Carter…you're the one who usually figures these things out, remember?" He said unable to stop himself from staring at her while he spoke.

Sam blushed. "Well Monish said that we would be inside our minds…so whose mind are we in?"

" Well, in all honesty, Carter this seems very reminiscent of, well…one of my …uh…you know….fantasies. So I guess that means we're inside mine." Jack stated honestly, looking down in embarrassment.

"Uh…Sir…I can't be sure that its not mine either." Sam started uneasily. " I mean…all of this…it seems…very, um, familiar, to me as well." She also looked down, utterly embarrassed.

O'Neill looked up, feeling a little better after Carter's admission, however he still looked really confused. Carter managed to place her utter mortification to the side for a moment to find a solution to their situation.

"Sir, Monish said that our minds would be linked with the blue stones, just like the one that the villagers were wearing."

O'Neill looked at her quizzically.

"Sir, what if our two minds linked together to form a sort of…common ground…between them using thoughts and ideas that were at the forefront of our conscious thought."

"Okay…" O'Neill said gently as he slowly walked closer to her. His voice was deep, soft and gravely.

"So that means that we are inside our heads, and nothing that we say…or do…will matter, or have even happened at all to everyone…out there." He gestured with a waving motion.

Sam's knees were getting weaker, and when he finally came to meet her in the center of the balcony he pulled her softly into his arms.

"Sam, do you love Pete?" He asked her just above a whisper, very seriously in a tone O'Neill rarely used.

Tears of realization welled up in her eyes, and he knew the answer.

"No." she whispered softly, looking down.

"Are you only with Pete because I never told you, never showed you…" He paused and brought his lips to her cheek stopping right beside her mouth and whispered so softly it could barely be heard, "I love you."

His breath on her face, brushing over the corner of her lips made her tremble and her knees began to shake.

"And because I never did this…" He whispered again, kissing her cheek in the same spot that he had let his breath linger. "Or this…" he continued, covering her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, hungering for her as he had for years . Sam was lost in a hazy dream world. When they finally parted for air he whispered one more time "Or this…" as he kissed her neck.

"I love you too." She whispered, finally finding words, "I always have, its always been you."

He moved his kisses back her up neck returning to her lips.

"So whatever we do here…as far as the Air Force is concerned, it didn't really happen, right?" He whispered.

"Yes, Sir." She responded automatically, just above a whisper and then winced.

"Sam, given the circumstances, I don't think Sir quite covers it…kinky though." He joked. She laughed to herself that he couldn't even manage to be serious in such a romantic moment, but that was her Jack, who now finally really was hers.

"Sorry, Jack…" She said softly with a slight giggle.

"You know, Daniel once asked me what I would do if there weren't any consequences…" He smiled and both of them glanced toward the bed. "I never thought I'd be lucky enough to be in that situation again, with you this time." He said.

"And what did you do that last time?" She asked softly, curiously.

"Oh, something like this…" He responded coyly, dipping her backward and kissing her passionately.

"And what are you going to do this time?" She asked, her breathing heavy and her voice quiet.

He dipped her backward, kissing her again. "Let's use our imaginations, shall we?" He said mischievously. Sam smiled as he continued to kiss her, all of the turmoil of the evening…Pete…seeming so far away.

After what seemed like hours they opened their eyes to find Monish removing the blue stones from their heads.

"All is well now, I presume?" The strange, little man asked.

Sam and Jack just smiled peacefully, Sam nodding in response.

"Good!" Monish exclaimed. "Take these home and study them for as long as you like. As for my stone, it needs to remain with me, as I only have one, but you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need in order to study it." He smiled warmly.

"Well that was easy…" O'Neill muttered.

"Uh, thank you, We will send a team back to study the device…" Sam started, and then continued in slight confusion "Monish, I don't understand. You gave us the gift…that you…um…gave us…" Sam winced a little her face turning pink. "And now you are giving us free access to your technology. What do you require us to give you?" Sam asked curiously, gratefulness coloring her voice.

"It was never about the trade, Samantha. It was about helping two people rid themselves of pain. But if you do manage to defeat the Goa'uld, I would say that would be more than enough for me an my people."

Sam smiled and nodded as she raised herself off the cushion where she had been sitting. Jack followed her in silence, his hand brushing hers for an instant, his heart heavy at the thought that they must resume military protocol. Sam looked at him with a sadness in her eyes. As he held her gaze, a gaze so full of emotion that it reminded him of the one they had held on Apophis' ship and the moment that they shared once they regained their memories after their time as Jonah and Thera all rolled into one, he whispered,

"Hey Carter…Sam…What do you say we try that for real sometime?"

She smiled, her face having turned a deep shade of pink. "Sir…Jack, how can we?"

"Very carefully." He answered. "And until we figure out how to pull it off, we still have those blue stones…" He grinned mischievously.

Sam smiled one of her full-length, mega watt smiles again, and to Jack everything seemed well with the world, all worlds, even P3X-505.

"So what are you gonna put in your report?" Sam quipped after a few moments of silence.

"Wouldn't you like to know, major!" O'Neill bantered back.

Just then they ran into a confused Teal'c and Daniel.

"Where have you guys been? We've been looking all over for you! We even had some of the villagers looking…" Daniel went on before observing the happy look on his friends faces.

Teal'c simply raised an eyebrow with a knowing look.

"So where were you guys?" Daniel asked bemusedly.

"Arranging trade, Danny." O'Neill answered. Sam looked down with a grin. "Let's go home." He finished.


	7. Epilogue

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**Epilogue**

Sam sat across from Pete in the Coffee shop.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking down. "I should have never entered into this relationship knowing…"

"Your brother knew, you know. He warned me that he suspected you were in love with your CO from the way you talked about him. He believed that you could do better, and, well You just sounded so… incredible, I had to try."

"Pete…" Sam started.

"Be happy, Sam." Pete choked as he got up to walk away.

Sam sat there a moment. A moment feeling like the dirt stuck to the bottom of Pete's shoe, a moment feeling like a crazy woman for having dated Pete while in love with Jack, for loving Jack in the first place, and for carrying on this secret relationship at the risk of her career. Then her cell phone rang and Jack's name appeared on the screen, the ring tone playing "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls as it softly sang, "And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am." She flipped it open to answer it.

"Hey…" She said feeling cheerful once again. And then she sat for a moment feeling as if everything was right with the world, Earth, that is, and hopefully for Monish and the good people of P3X-505 as well.

Later that night in the SGC Daniel wandered into Sam's lab finding Sam and Jack with their arms and hands linked, almost as if they were about to arm wrestle, and happy, peaceful expressions upon their faces. Meanwhile in their minds, the two of them sat kissing in a canoe on a lake much like the one behind Jack's cabin, two fishing poles dangling over the side.

"This is great.." Sam said, her voice contained to their minds, unspoken to Daniel or the outside world.

"Uh…guys?" Daniel looked at them curiously.

The sound of his voice snapped the pair back to Earth.

"Oh hey there Danny…" O'Neill greeted him casually.

"Colonel O'Neill was just helping me test the mind linking properties of the stones for the purpose of using them to quickly coordinate attacks in battle."

"Riiight…" Daniel grinned, a knowing and mischievous look upon his face.

"Have fun with that." He added as he exited the room.

Teal'c, who had been standing in the hallway simply raised his eyebrow, stoically stating, "Indeed."

The End.

A/N Okay, its done! Hope you all liked it!


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